The Pro's and Con's of Closing your business for the holidays
Published December 19, 2021
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For many industries, closing your business for the holidays is standard practice. For construction and mining industries, it is common practice. But when can it be detrimental to your company, and when do you need to rest your staff?

Who gets to close during the holidays?

For many companies, it is not an option. Restaurants, retail, and most of the service industries work through. The question for the owners and managers is, when do your staff get to rest?

Manage leave schedules throughout the year

If your business does not have the option to close, is leave mandatory for your staff during the year? Ideally, it would help to manage the workload with your team, so they have the safety and freedom to take time off without losing clients and money.

Do your clients need access to your staff’s skills during the festive season?

For clients of advertising agencies, for example, they may need to be promoting their products and services over the festive season. For agencies, their staff may be exhausted and need a break. The shut-down of the service office can be detrimental to the success or failure of the client’s business.

When does your business closing become detrimental to the relationship with your clients?

When you decide to shut your business for the holidays, and it may negatively affect your client’s ability to deliver, it may cause problems down the line. The question you need to ask is if they need to find an alternative supplier, and they like them, will switching cause your business to fail? How dependent are you on that relationship, and can you manage with a loss of the company?

What you can do to mitigate the possible issues?

Preparation is everything. When you know you are closing, it is a good idea to prep your clients way ahead of time. It may need to start in November to allow them time to get all the briefs in, ensure you can still deliver any products for production, and they can make payments before the festive season.
It does not help only to let clients know that you are not available the day before you close.

Diversity is king in these circumstances. Having staff in different life stages, from different religious backgrounds, etc., can help you have skeleton staff on standby over the December holiday. Parents often take time off as the kids are not in school, whereas families without kids can take leave during non-school holiday periods throughout the year.
Non-religious staff members may not have any issues working over Christmas, whereas for Christian staff members, it is a non-negotiable.

Whatever the circumstances, the main idea is to weigh up your business’s pros and cons. Identify the financial impact as well as the staff implications.
Plan ahead. Letting clients know too late can leave you reeling and not be able to deliver anyway.
Communicate to your clients way ahead of time. Speak to them about your intentions. When everyone is in the loop, it is easier to manage expectations and minimise disappointment and risk.

Bizcash helps South African SMEs to manage and grow their business through alternative funding options. We wish our clients and partners a happy festive season and a restful holiday. If you are still working, we hope this season is as successful as possible.

Speak to our team to find out more about how we can support your business with alternative funding options. Get in touch with us on 0861 93 93 93 or email us on info@bizcashscf.co.za or contact us here.

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Categories: Business / Finance